Kirby Dach exits again as Canadiens face growing concern

Dach left for the dressing room after taking a hit from Jeffrey Viel, and it was later announced he would not return to the game. That instantly turned a routine in-game moment into a bigger Montreal problem.

Because with Dach, the concern is never just one shift. It is the pattern that follows him every time he starts to build momentum.

That is why this one lands hard. The Canadiens have tried to stay patient with him, tried to keep the role steady, and tried to let him play his way into rhythm. Then the script changes again.

The tough part for Montreal is that Dach had finally been back in the mix after missing time earlier this season with a fractured foot. He was ruled out for 4 to 6 weeks in November, and the injury questions never really left him after that.

Kent Hughes and St-Louis still have every reason to believe in the player. Dach is 25, he has size, and he still flashes the kind of skill set that can help a top six when he is healthy enough to stay there.

But that last part keeps dragging the story back to the same place. Healthy enough to stay there has become the whole issue.

This is where the label starts to follow him, fair or not. Injury-prone is a harsh tag in this league, but once the interruptions pile up year after year, people stop treating them like bad luck.

Dach has 8 goals and 14 points in 30 games this season. Those numbers are not empty, and they show he can still give Montreal something when he is in the lineup.

The problem is availability. St-Louis cannot build stable lines around a player when every new stretch of games seems to come with another physical setback hanging over it.

That hits the room too. Teammates know what Dach can do. They also know the Canadiens keep getting pulled back into injury management instead of simply letting him settle into a long run.

And from a roster angle, it keeps complicating Montreal's bigger plan. Hughes is trying to shape a group that can grow together, but that gets harder when one of the most intriguing forwards remains this difficult to count on.

So Sunday's update is bigger than one player leaving one game. It puts Kirby Dach right back under the same spotlight he has been trying to escape, and it leaves the Canadiens facing the same question again: how long can they wait for the full version of him to finally stay on the ice?

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